ESPN3 will present exclusive live coverage in the U.S. of the 12-round IBF Middleweight title fight between defending titleholder Felix Sturm (39-3-2, 18 KOs) and Sam Soliman (43-11, 18 KOs) on Saturday, May 31. Saturday’s coverage of the undercard bouts will begin at 2 p.m. ET with the main event getting underway at approximately 5 p.m.
The fight, from the KönigPalast Arena in Krefeld, Germany, will be the second meeting between the two boxers. Australia’s Soliman won a unanimous decision over Germany’s Sturm in their first bout (a world title eliminator), a result which was changed to a no contest due to Soliman testing positive for a banned stimulant. Sturm went on to win his next two fights, including a second-round knockout of England’s Darren Barker to win the title in December.
About ESPN3
ESPN3 is ESPN’s live multi-screen sports network, a destination that delivers thousands of exclusive sports events annually. It is accessible online at WatchESPN.com, on smartphones and tablets via the WatchESPN app and streamed on televisions through ESPN on Xbox LIVE to Gold members, Amazon Fire TV, Apple TV and Roku. The network is currently available to more than 92 million homes at no additional cost to fans who receive their high-speed Internet connection or video subscription from an affiliated service provider. The network is also available at no cost to approximately 21 million U.S. college students and U.S.-based military personnel via computers, smartphones and tablets connected to on-campus educational and on-base military broadband and Wi-Fi networks.
As in September, I once again ran out of gas in the 10th & 11th championship rounds of October & November with this column, but I recovered to complete them and will unleash a few more flurries to close out the 12th and final round.
In the first week of October, Hassan N’Dam won a UD over Curtis Stevens in an eliminator for the right to challenge Jermaine Taylor who defeated aging Sam Soliman to regain the IBF Middleweight title. How Taylor even earned this title shot is another story altogether, but it is all irrelevant as he is now the champion. However he will not have too much time to savor his victory as he has assault and battery charges pending against him and an upcoming court fight that may turn out to be the toughest fight of his life, just when things started to look up for him in boxing, we wish him luck.
